Friday, December 12, 2014

In the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel from
Jennifer Chance, an irresistible alpha male follows his ex into a deadly
standoff—and reignites a heated affair.

For Erin
Connelly, being a good girl isn’t such a bad thing. She’s working her dream job
at a Boston art gallery and staying out of trouble, which is more than she can
say for her deadbeat mom. Unfortunately, her mother’s latest misadventure lands
her in the clutches of a Mexican drug lord. Now the only person who can save
her is the one man Erin has no business asking for help: the sexy-as-sin army
ranger who just so happens to be her former high school sweetheart.

Zander James is
no gentleman—and no officer, either, thanks to Erin. Four years ago, she made a
call that terminated his highest aspirations . . . and their relationship. He’s
never forgiven her, but when he learns that Erin’s embarking on a half-baked
rescue mission, he sure as hell can’t let her go alone. Now, with a treacherous
enemy lying in wait, the electrifying tension between them may just be Zander’s
undoing. Because while he may be able to keep Erin alive, he can’t promise to
keep his hands off her.

Erin forced herself
to smile. This is just the same old Zander, pulling your chain. Play this
cool, play this right. “Well, I appreciate you giving me a few minutes. I
know—well, I suspect this has to be hard for you.”

She didn’t miss his
sharp glance, even as he gestured toward her glass with his own. “Looks like
we’re both empty. How about a refill?” He moved in closer to her body as they
turned, and Erin almost swallowed her tongue. How many times had he done that
when they were dating, with an unconscious need to touch her every time they
were close? He must have noticed it as well, because he instantly shifted back,
giving her space as they walked across the lawn. She felt everyone’s eyes on
them both, and she straightened her shoulders. She had every right to be here.
The family had asked—

“So, you going to
get to the point?”

At Zander’s words,
Erin glanced up, startled, as they reached the long table with its carafes of
water and lemonade. “The point?” she asked, busying herself with cups and
napkins.

“Oh. Of course.”
Erin pulled it back together. By now they were standing off to the edge of the
gathering, in the shade of the fringe of trees. No one was paying attention to
them now, she didn’t think, at least not overtly. She took a nervous sip of her
lemonade, hoping the sugar would carry her through. Everything she’d wanted to
say to Zander about her mother sounded stupid now, in her head. Hell, this
wasn’t even just about her mother, but her mother and her mom’s latest random
boyfriend, whom Erin had never even met—both of them stuck in some hotel room
in Mexico, depending on her. But she wasn’t going to get into all of that, no
way. Zander didn’t know the truth about her parents. She’d always shut him down
when he’d tried to pry, and, guy that he was, he’d never pried all that hard.
They’d always had . . . other things to distract them.

Another flush
crawled up her cheeks, and Erin lifted her chin. Just get this over with.

“Um, okay. I do
have a few questions,” she said, pleased with how firm her voice sounded. “The
first is this: If someone with no experience with a gun suddenly, you know,
found themselves in a bad situation, would it be better to have a gun even
though they don’t possess a ton of experience firing it, or to not have
one, knowing that it’ll probably just get taken away and all of that.” She just
felt so naked, thinking about taking all that money into some strange
andcreepy-sounding border town. Why couldn’t they just meet her on the Texas
side? Why did it have to actually be in Mexico?

But the silence
between them was lengthening, and she glanced up at Zander. His eyes had gone
flat, his face impassive. “What?”

“What happened,
Erin?” he asked. “Who’s threatening you?”

She blinked at him.
Huh? “Oh!” she said, her brain scrambling for an intelligent response.
“It’s not that, not really. I just—um, I was walking home from my studio space
the other day, alone, and it occurred to me that it wasn’t the safest
neighborhood and—”

“Bullshit.”
Zander’s word was sharp, percussive, and it stunned her into silence. “But to
answer your question, if you don’t know how to use a gun, and you don’t have
time to learn— and learn well—before you carry it into, as you say, a
‘bad situation,’ then no. You’re better off without one. Pepper spray, a
whistle around your neck, and a good attack dog would be a better bet. Though
none of them will help you a hell of a lot if whoever you’re with in that
situation does have a gun. So I’m going to ask you again. Who’s threatening
you?”

“No one is
threatening me, Zander,” Erin said, letting her irritation show. And,
technically, this was true enough. It was her mother in trouble, not her. “But
thank you. That’s helpful.” She hadn’t thought about a dog. But the other
stuff—pepper spray, a whistle. That could be good. A phone set to dial the
police might not be a bad idea either, except of course she wasn’t supposed to
involve them. “Okay, next question.” She paused, trying to figure out how to
word this one. “So, say you have to move something hidden in a vehicle. You
can’t run the risk of anyone figuring out what you have, but you look pretty
innocent, if that helps.”

Zander cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t really have a
lot of experience with looking innocent.”

The book started out really strong, and although the Zander and Erin have chemistry, I didn't feel the love. It's understood that they never really got over each other, but we didn't get enough flashbacks of them falling in love in the past. This book focuses the mission to rescue her mom and their sexual attraction, but not enough on their feelings. Overall an enjoyable new adult read.

Jennifer
Chance is the award-winning author of the new adult Rule Breakers series. A
lover of books, romance, and happily-ever-afters, she lives and writes in Ohio.